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(No Model.

W. R. JOHNSON.

DRUM. No. 365,817. Patented July 5,1887

' VVITNEEEEEJ c INVENTEI 3 B 1 am.

+ATTEIFQIEKE.

' UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

\VILLIAM R. JOHNSON, OF \VAL'IHAM, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE- I-IALF TO GEORGE A. DOVNS, OF SAME PLACE.

DRUM.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 365,817, dated July 5, 1887.

I Applicationfiled January 31, 1887. Serial No. 225,996. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM R. JOHNSON, of VValtham, in the county of Middlesex, State of Massachusetts, have invented a cer tain new and useful Improvement in Drums, of which the following is a description sufficiently full, clear, and exact to enable any person skilled in the art or science to which said invention appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompany ing drawings, forming part of this specification, in which Figure l is an isometrical perspective view of a drum embodying my improvement; Fig. 2,'a sectional side elevation showing the method of attaching the snares; Fig. 3, a side elevation of the snare stretcher or fastener, some of the parts being shown in vertical section; and Fig. 4, a diagram showing one of the straining slides.

Like letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the different figures of the drawings.

My invention relates more especially to that class of drums which are known as snaredrums, and it consists in a novel construction and arrangement of parts, as hereinafter more fully set forth and claimed, the object being to produce a more effective and otherwise desirable article of this character than is now in ordinary use.

The nature and operation of the improvement will be readily understood by all conversant with such matters from the following explanation.

In the drawings, A represents the barrel or body of the drum; B, the snares or strings, and O the heads.

The body and heads are constructed in the usual manner. A snare stretcher or holder, D, is secured to one side of the barrel or body A by screws 22, said stretcher consisting of a body, (I, provided at either end with upwardlyprojecting standards at m, carrying a thumbscrew, a, so journaled in their upper ends that it may rotate in, but cannot be withdrawn from, its bearings, and a triangular-shaped holder, h, which is provided on its under side with a groove adapting it to slide on the body d, and at its inner end with an upright stand ard, 2, interior] y threaded to receive the screw a, the standard 2 being disposed between the standards at m and the standard at projecting through said holder. A horizontally-arranged bar, H, (see Fig. 2,) to which the snares are attached, in a manner hereinafter set forth, is secured to the barrel A on the side opposite to the holder h.

In ordinary drums of this class the snares sometimes consist of four or five strings of gut or finewire drawn tightly across the head 0, and secured by the hoop K, drawn against the flesh-hoop orhead-band Pbythestrainingcord, the ends of the snares being inserted between said hoop and band. In my improved drum the snares are of much greater length than in ordinary drums, and in stringing it one end of the snare is first passed around the bar'H and served or secured to the body of the snare by winding with a small cord, as shown at t in Fig. 2. The snare is then drawn tightly across the drum-head O and passed around the bar I) of the holder 72, and then back again across the head 0 and around the bar H, this process being continued until a sufficient number of strands have been drawn across the head, when the free end of the snare is secured to the bar H in substantially the same manner as at the-start. I preferably divide the snares into three sets, the middle set, 2', (see Fig. 2,) containing twenty snares, and the two outside sets, Z, each ten snares, although I do not confine myself to forming the sets of any definite number of snares. A guard or strap, S, is secured to the fiesh-hoop P by screws f, under which the snares pass, the screws serving to keep the sets of snares ilseparated, and also to assist in holding them in position. A guard, T, is also secured to the flesh-hoop near the stretcher D, under which the snares are passed before being carried around the bar I) of the holder h, said holder being divided into three I sections by bars or braces 12, corresponding to the divisions in the guard S and serving to assist in keeping the snare-strings divided. The hoop K is slightly cut away above the snares, as shown at 7; it", to receive them and prevent it from interfering with their vibrations. By this method of arranging the snares in sets I am enabled to use much finer snares having a lining, 17, (see Fig. 4,) of leather orsimilar material, which prevents the cord R from slipping through the loop when the drum is strained, and enables the musician to produce and retain an equal tension on all parts of the hoops K. This is practically impossible when the ordinary leather ears or loops are used, as the leather of which they are composed is easily afiected by moisture, &c., and also differs in elasticity, thus necessitating a con stant attention to keep the drum properly strained.

In the use of my improvement it will be obvious that when it is desired to tighten or loosen the snares B the thumb-screw c is merely turned to the right or left, as the case may be, thereby causing the threaded arm .2 to move back and forth on said screw and the holder h to be actuated accordingly.

To strain the drum, the loops M are operated in the usual manner, as will be readily understood without a more explicit description.

I do not confine myself to the number of snares shown in Fig. 2, as any desired number may be used, nor to arranging them in sets, as shown, although I deem. it preferable.

Neither do I confine myself to using the guard S for dividing the snares, as the bar H may be so constructed as to accomplish the same result; nor to dividing the bracket it by the bars 12, as any other suitable means may be employed, or-tlie divisions may be omitted; nor to the use of the guard T, as the same may be entirely omitted, if preferred.

Having thus explained my invention, what I claim is 1. As a new article of manufacture, an ear or stretcher for drums, having a solid or unyielding body, 16, provided with a lining of leather or similar material, 17, substantially as described.

2. In a drum of the character described, the stretcher M, having the unyielding body 16 and lining 17, in combination with the cord R, hoops]? K, heads 0, hooks 15, and body A, substantially as set forth.

3. The snare stretcher D, consisting of the body 01, provided with the upright standards m m thumb-screw a, journaled in said standards, and the triangular shaped holder h,

adapted to slide on the body d, and provided with an upright standard, 2, having a screwthreaded hole for the screw 0, and a bar, I), to which the snares may be attached, substantially as described.

' 4. A drum of the character described, provided with snares arranged in two or more sets, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

VILLIAM R. JOHNSON. Witnesses:

O. A. Srmw, E. L. SA\VYER. 

